Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, who has served in the United States Senate since 1985, announced that he will retire at the end of his seventh term in the chamber. Upon this announcement, many prominent Republicans in the state have begun campaigning to replace him once he leaves office in 2027.
Former Kentucky Attorney General (AG) Daniel Cameron, was the first to announce his bid on February 20. In a post to X (formerly Twitter), Cameron posted, “Kentucky, it’s time for a new generation of leaders in the U.S. Senate.” He finished by simply stating, “Let’s do this.” If elected, Cameron would become the first African-American in history to be sent to the chamber from the Commonwealth.
Cameron faces many difficulties in his bid and is also struggling to fundraise for his campaign, with Politico reporting in July of this year that Cameron only raised $385,000. Although he is the frontrunner for the primary, Cameron is only polling at 44% according to an April McLaughlin and Associates poll.
Representative Andy Barr also entered the race for Senate in April and has tried to present himself as the most pro-Trump candidate out of the four vying for the seat, despite the current president not officially endorsing him yet. Although he has not received an endorsement from the president yet, Barr has received endorsements from GOP leadersincluding Steve Scalise, Elise Stefanik, and Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers. On his campaign website, the congressman touts himself as “Kentucky Tough” and “100% America First,” with him also claiming that he was the “first member of the Kentucky delegation to endorse President Trump,” and also stating that he was “the Kentucky Chairman for President Trump’s 2024 Primary Campaign.”
Despite this proclamation and strong donation numbers, Barr still faces issues in his bid. In the most recent poll for this race, Barr was only polling at 18%, 26% behind Cameron. Unlike Cameron, he has never run statewide and will need to get his name out to Kentuckians outside of his district to have a chance at the bid.
The last two candidates are businessmen Nate Morris and Michael Faris, who are both trying to make themselves out to be the outsider candidates of the race.
Nate Morris, the owner of the Lexington based “Morris Industries,” made his intentions of running for office known during a podcast appearance with Donald Trump Jr. In a statement after the announcement, Morris stated that he was running to bring the Senate seat “back to the people.” He also stated, “I am a proud ninth-generation Kentuckian… when I came into the world, my mother was on food stamps.” He followed, “We have been fighting and scrapping for everything we have, like most Kentuckians. 19 of my family members worked at an auto-plant and I have been able to live the American dream because of how great this country is.”
Morris is a newcomer to politics, and is largely self-funding his campaign. In ads since his announcement, he has proclaimed Barr and Cameron as “McConnell’s boys,” and himself as a “Trump Guy.” He also proclaimed in a statement that Barr and Cameron “owe everything to Mitch McConnell.” He finished by stating, “I think that contrast is gonna be very, very striking to Kentuckians all over the state because they’ve had enough of Mitch.”
Michael Faris is also a businessman and describes himself as a “conservative outsider.” They are both running on an “America First” platform and are running on ending corruption in government.
Faris is also aiming to “revitalize Kentucky’s economy by supporting small businesses,” and “cutting unnecessary regulation, defending Constitutional rights and rebuilding trust in government.” He also stated that he believes the government should be “an environment where people can succeed on their own merit, rather than fostering dependency on federal programs.”
Both Morris and Faris face small name recognition and low polling numbers, with Faris being included in no polls so far, and Morris only polling at 2%.
Whoever wins the primary for the Republicans will compete against current State House Representative and attorney Pamela Stevenson in the general election, who is currently running unopposed in the Democratic party. Stevenson, who has served as House Minority Leader since the beginning of this year, launched her campaign in March and has stated that she wants to “stop the recklessness” and “restore the balance of power” if she goes to the Senate. If elected, she, like Cameron, would be Kentucky’s first African-American U.S. Senator.
There has also been speculation that current Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) may also run for senate, though he himself has not announced yet. In a recent interview given to the Lexington Herald-Leader, current Senator Mitch McConnell told the paper that he “doesn’t believe” that Beshear won’t run for Senate. “He’s a gifted politician, he won in a red state, and I know (Democratic leader) Chuck Schumer enough to know that he’s probably beating the door down.” He continued by stating “so what the governor will have to decide: is he more likely to get to be president, a pretty long shot for anybody, or to win a senate seat where he’s shown he’s competitive?”
Democratic donors in the state want the governor to run for the seat as well. Christina Lee Brown, a Louisville philanthropist who helped raise over $1 Million for Beshear’s reelection in 2023, told the Louisville Courier-Journal that “the senate is in desperate need of Beshear’s leadership and strong commitment to fair and honest and caring democracy.” She continued, “he certainly has those talents as he has beautifully exerted throughout all the various times we have had in Kentucky.” Despite these calls however, Beshear stated in March that he had no interest in running for Senate.
The primary for the seat will be held May 19, 2026, with the general election being held on November 3. Whoever wins will take office on January 3, 2027. Kentucky voters will have the opportunity to decide who gets to represent them in the Senate until 2033. Anyone who is not registered can do so via Kentucky.gov under the site “Online Voter Registration.” You can also visit vote.gov.
Photo courtesy of AP News.
